"So, uh... hey? Sorry, I'm not a great storyteller, but I'll try to tell you about my childhood. My early childhood, I mean. Okay, here we go. Oh, I almost forgot. My name's Miles."
Age: 7
Miles' eyes flutter open, slightly blinded by the morning light shining through the window. He climbs out of bed, stretching with a loud yawn. "Morning, sis", he says, looking at the top part of his bunk bed. He gets up, stepping over his scattered toys, saying "Come on, Mallory. You promised that I could pick what game we play today.". Mallory gets up, saying "Ugh, okay.. Gimme a minute.". Miles excitedly runs into the bathroom, eager to start his day.
"Mallory is my older sister. She's only three years older than me, but she always acted so much more superior.."
Later, Miles and Mallory walk out of their rooms, meeting their loving mom and dad. "Aw, morning kids. Breakfast is almost ready, okay?", their mother says, cooking several pieces of bacon over the stove. Miles and Mallory sit around the table, their father sitting across from them, engrossed in his newspaper. "Hey, sweetheart. Can you believe this? They're raising the price of gas.", their father says. She giggles, as she serves them all their food.
"I always wondered.. when I grow up, will I also care about that boring stuff? Like the price if gas or not? Spoiler alert.. Yup"
After they finish breakfast, Miles runs excitedly out of the door, Mallory following him reluctantly. "Come on, Mallory. We gotta get to the playground already.". Mallory, dragging her feet, says "Why? It's not like the playground is going anywhere..". Miles grabs her hand and tries to rush them "Please! We gotta get to the swings before some kids get on them! It's my turn to pick the game, remember?", Miles says, trying to pull her forward, to no avail. As they arrive at the park, much later, they find it completely full of neighborhood kids, leaving them nowhere to play on it. "Hehe, sorry. Guess we won't play your dumb game today..", Mallory says snarkly, already walking away. Miles stands there, whimpering from a mixture of anger and sadness.
"Man, I really was pissed off. Pissed at those kids for arriving so early outta nowhere, pissed at myself for always playing whatever games Mallory wanted.., but most of all, I was pissed at Mallory.."
Miles grabs Mallory's arm, shouting, in tears "It's not fair! It was my turn, Mallory!", But Mallory simply says "Hey, I didn't know it would be this full..", but Miles shouts "You did too! That's why you were dragging your feet earlier.. So you wouldn't have to play!". Mallory, initially taken aback, eventually pinches Miles' arm, saying "Let go, Miles! So what if I didn't wanna embarrass myself, playing your stupid baby games?!". Miles, in tears, slaps Mallory, but she pushes him down, shouting "I'm older than you, Miles! I know better than you!". Miles kicks her away, and she starts crying, grabbing his hair as they fight.
"What a freaking bully.. that's what I was thinking in that moment. I always played whatever games she wanted, without question. But the one time I wanted to pick the game, she's suddenly too mature? Gimme a break.."
Later, that afternoon, Miles walks through the streets of their home town, not paying attention to where he's going, only knowing that he didn't want to see or talk to Mallory. "It's not fair.. I always played all the games you wanna play..", he mutters, kicking some stones across the street. He continues walking down the street, more and more of the street lights coming on. "Oh no! I gotta get... home?", he says to himself, but looks around, realizing that he's lost.
Miles sits near an old oak tree, crying into his hands, sitting with his knees up to his chest. "Mom.. dad.. help me..", he whimpers, his fear growing more and more. Suddenly, a mysterious figure asks, with a feminine voice "Hello? Are you also lost?", Miles, initially scared, eventually nods, saying "I.. don't know where I am.., I'm scared..". The figure steps under the light of one of the street lights, revealing a slightly older girl, wearing an oversized blue hoodie, a big backpack on her arm, and long, red hair.
"God, I was such a wimp back then, huh? But, then again, if I wasn't, I wouldn't have met.. her.."
Thr girl sits next to Miles, noticing his dirty and tattered clothes, along with the scars on his arms. "Did you fight a lion or something? You look awful.", the girl asks. Miles looks at his arms, saying "I got into a fight.. with a meanie.". She giggles, saying "Come on, let's find your house. Then we can tell them all about it.", as she stands up, walking deeper into the town, and Miles follows her.
"Yeah, I know following strangers is... not the best idea, as a toddler, but, she just seemed so.. cool"
They head to a police station, the girl explaining to the officer that Miles can't find his way home. The officer takes them both in his police car, driving them home. Miles' heart pounds fast in his chest, and his hands shiver. But, just then, the girl places her hand on his, offering a warm smile. Miles lays on her shoulder and dozes off, smiling softly as they interlock their fingers.
Later, the policeman finds Miles' family home, and drops him off, not before addressing his parents and explaining the situation. As the policeman explains, and his parents embrace him in tears, all Miles could think about was the mysterious girl who saved him. Mallory runs up to him, but stops when she sees the look on his face.
Later that night, Miles spends hours scribbling away on his sketchbook, trying his hardest to recreate the image of his savior, specifically using a red crayon to color her hair. He mutters "I hope I see you again..", as he dozes off.
"I remember that night, it was the first time I've been so.. obsessed with someone like this. So...Enamored."
The next day, Miles wakes up to the sound of a knock on his and Mallory's bedroom window. "Huh..? What's.. that?", he asks as he walks up to the window, and looks across, only to see the red haired girl waving to him. She had climbed the tree near the house to get up to the window. "Hey, buddy! Miss me?", the red haired girl remarks, as Miles opens his window, saying "Whoa! It's.. you..! I.. wait, did you climb this big tree all by yourself..?". Suddenly, the red haired girl gets up on the branch, and excitedly jumps through Miles' bedroom window, shouting "Yup!", landing on him.
As Miles looks up at her, as she gets up off of him, she says "Oh, and my name's Chelsea. Nice to meet'cha!"
"Hehe, pretty crazy way to introduce yourself, huh?"